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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29022918">Vanitas Vanitatum</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellewrites1/pseuds/Ellewrites1'>Ellewrites1</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Saw (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Heroes to Villains, Idealism</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 14:08:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>451</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29022918</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellewrites1/pseuds/Ellewrites1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In this short fic I'll depict why Mark Hoffman chose to kill Seth Baxter and become the antagonist.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Vanitas Vanitatum</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A/N: I watched the saw films and, although Mark was one of my favorite characters, I feel like his journey to becoming an antagonist wasn't fleshed out enough. So I wrote a short fic in which I hopefully added a bit of nuance to his character :p Enjoy!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
  <a href="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/sawfilms/images/5/50/HoffmanGrieving.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/230?cb=20120129173803">
    
  </a>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Vanitas Vanitatum…</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As he was clinging onto his dead sister’s hand, Mark vaguely remembered a Latin phrase he came across years ago. At that time, his eyes hazily went over the quote and he looked up the translation: <em>“all is in vain”. </em>Yet he did not feel its message. How could he? After all, he was still young, having just embarked on his career as a detective. He still believed in lofty ideals of justice, that only the undeserving would be punished, while the worthy ones would be rewarded. And he still believed that, as a detective, he could bring this ideal to fruition- protect the innocent and help punish the guilty.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Leave me alone! NO!”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Mark’s colleagues were trying to stop him from seeing the crime scene. The veil which covered the ideal of justice was slipping away, only to reveal that it had been a hopeless illusion all along. While they were trying to prevent him from seeing his Angelina's corpse, the cops attempted to keep that veil intact- to keep Mark’s spirit intact, unaware of what was real. But they failed.</p><p>Mark dashed to his sister, and saw what Seth-that<em> animal</em>- did to her. Her skin was ghastly, and her eyes, once vibrant and full of love, had been drained of all life. He could only see the blood gushing out in crimson streams. It was the only color left on Angelina's body, the only sign that she was once alive. She was his only family. She was the only person who truly cared about him. And she was gone.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>All is in vain..</em>
</p><p> </p><p>As he knelt in front of her, clutching her hand, Mark truly felt the significance of the phrase he read in his youth. Everything was in vain. All his efforts as a cop were futile. Mark protected so many people- yet when it came to protecting the one who meant everything to him, he failed. He spent years serving a justice system which was based upon an illusion. A system that freed Seth Baxter on a technicality and failed to protect Angelina.</p><p>Mark’s eyes were brimmed with tears and his sight became distorted. The blood, the stained alabaster skin, the tears- they were all morphing into the same thing, into one hazy colour. But one thing was clear to him. He could no longer wait for the world, for society or <em>that</em> corrupt legal system to bring justice for his sister. No fairness was expected of them, for they do not care about individual suffering.  Mark knew only he could avenge his sister and give Seth his due.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>From nothingness, he would dispense justice.</em>
</p><p>It was the only thing left that he could do.</p><p> </p>
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